Calling all nerds, comic book geeks, cosplayers, and anime feinds

Kitty27 · Aug 9, 2014

I am not a nerd,but a Goth. Let me tell y'all that a Black nerd is way more acceptable than a Black Goth,lol. I heard it all from devil worshiper to speculations about the state of my sanity and holy soul. Growing up,I loved dark music and horror of any kind. I am with M.N.Thorne. I'm just an odd soul.

I've never been to a con,but I've heard tales of foolishness happening at them from friends. I'd love to go to Londoncon and Whitby Goth festival one day. I literally live a stone's throw from DragonCon,but never go. I prefer cons that focus more on horror and the like than cosplay. I do intend on going to OnyxCon this year,though.

maxmordon · Aug 12, 2014

I write science fiction and you would not believe how many times I have gotten "You shouldn't write this. It's not our culture". Because if is not García Márquez or Bolaño is not Latino.

Never mind Borges wrote an Alien invasion film.

M.N Thorne · Aug 12, 2014

Max, there are tons of Latino science fiction writers and comic book creators. Have you ever read "La Raza Cósmica (1925)" by great José Vasconcelos? I believe that novel is one of Latin America's greatest Science Fiction stories of all time. However, many people believe it was created to justified colonialism in Latin America. In addition, Mexican Chemist and Poet Jorge Cuesta wrote a beautiful fantasy/science fiction"Canto a un dios mineral(1936)" I am sorry but I always believe that Borges' science fiction was overrated. However, I did like his short horror story collection "The Book of Fantasy." In fact, some of the greatest vampire literature was written in Spanish came from Latin America.

maxmordon said:
I write science fiction and you would not believe how many times I have gotten "You shouldn't write this. It's not our culture". Because if is not García Márquez or Bolaño is not Latino.

Never mind Borges wrote an Alien invasion film.

maxmordon · Aug 14, 2014

I have always considered Borges been closer to the style Chesterton and Saki with his cosmopolitan magic realism. I have heard about "La Raza Cósmica", but I haven't read it but I wanted to point out that the time machine story was actually written by the Spanish ambassador in China and published two years before H. G. Wells' own. More about it here.

The thing about being a writer in Latin America is that you have a lot pressure from all sides. At least in Venezuela, people tend to read translated authors over Spanish ones and there's a feeling that you have to write for the people, or at least give something back in regard of arts and culture.

A writer is not a mere writer, it's a public intellectual as Mark Twain or Gore Vidal were who also have duties of being a journalist or columnist or professor or at least offering workshops. And as such, is seen as having a responsability with the people, reflecting our culture and preserving a "here and now" and you can see it in some of our greatest writers such as Mario Vargas Llosa or Paco Ignacio Taibo II.

This has led, I feel, to two great schools of thought: The grandiose, the more literary type obsessed with great mature topics in our society and the irreverent, who touches more existential elements while dealing with vice and issues with a more urban air.

M.N Thorne · Aug 15, 2014

Wow, Max, you have taught me something new about Latin American writers. I thought the days of being public intellectual was over

I have heard of Enrique Gaspar actually.

maxmordon said:
I have always considered Borges been closer to the style Chesterton and Saki with his cosmopolitan magic realism. I have heard about "La Raza Cósmica", but I haven't read it but I wanted to point out that the time machine story was actually written by the Spanish ambassador in China and published two years before H. G. Wells' own. More about it here.

The thing about being a writer in Latin America is that you have a lot pressure from all sides. At least in Venezuela, people tend to read translated authors over Spanish ones and there's a feeling that you have to write for the people, or at least give something back in regard of arts and culture.

A writer is not a mere writer, it's a public intellectual as Mark Twain or Gore Vidal were who also have duties of being a journalist or columnist or professor or at least offering workshops. And as such, is seen as having a responsability with the people, reflecting our culture and preserving a "here and now" and you can see it in some of our greatest writers such as Mario Vargas Llosa or Paco Ignacio Taibo II.

This has led, I feel, to two great schools of thought: The grandiose, the more literary type obsessed with great mature topics in our society and the irreverent, who touches more existential elements while dealing with vice and issues with a more urban air.

maxmordon · Aug 16, 2014

M.N Thorne said:
Wow, Max, you have taught me something new about Latin American writers. I thought the days of being public intellectual was over .

I guess it's because, historically, publishing books was far more uncommon here than in Western Europe and the US, so you had a pretty tight intellectual elite who also had also to write in the far-more available and accesible newspapers to make themselves a name. This, too, is why so many Latin American writers traditionally have focused on short stories and poetry. I remember reading an essay about it but can't remember if it was by Herrera Luque, Uslar Pietri or Manuel Caballero.

For a while, I have tried to write science fiction dealing about social clashes, but it worries me to become too political and because of it not making it enjoyable to the reader.

M.N Thorne · Aug 16, 2014

Hang in there, Max

We need more Latin American horror, fantasy, and science fiction writers. I understand that many people might want you to focus on more political tones. However, I believe that Latin America still needs genre writers.

maxmordon said:
I guess it's because, historically, publishing books was far more uncommon here than in Western Europe and the US, so you had a pretty tight intellectual elite who also had also to write in the far-more available and accesible newspapers to make themselves a name. This, too, is why so many Latin American writers traditionally have focused on short stories and poetry. I remember reading an essay about it but can't remember if it was by Herrera Luque, Uslar Pietri or Manuel Caballero.

For a while, I have tried to write science fiction dealing about social clashes, but it worries me to become too political and because of it not making it enjoyable to the reader.

CheG · Aug 25, 2014

I've sort of started to work on developing my book. I just call it Fujoshi for now... I've never written something without a speculative element though and I'm all adrift.

And fujoshi isn't really the right term, I just think it's funny.

Littlebit66 · Oct 2, 2014

M.N Thorne said:
Max, there are tons of Latino science fiction writers and comic book creators. Have you ever read "La Raza Cósmica (1925)" by great José Vasconcelos? I believe that novel is one of Latin America's greatest Science Fiction stories of all time. However, many people believe it was created to justified colonialism in Latin America. In addition, Mexican Chemist and Poet Jorge Cuesta wrote a beautiful fantasy/science fiction"Canto a un dios mineral(1936)" I am sorry but I always believe that Borges' science fiction was overrated. However, I did like his short horror story collection "The Book of Fantasy." In fact, some of the greatest vampire literature was written in Spanish came from Latin America.

This is a wonderful thread topic, I started working on a new story where the MC is a young Latino college student who feels he doesn't quite fit in with his large extended family because he's a sort of a nerd and loves sci-fi. Your notes about Latin American writers and books could be a nice detail where he offers suggestions for sci-fi books with a pretty girl he meets at his college book store; luckily for him she also shares some of the same interests.

These forums are a lot of fun as well as informative.

Littlebit66 · Oct 2, 2014

maxmordon said:
I write science fiction and you would not believe how many times I have gotten "You shouldn't write this. It's not our culture". Because if is not García Márquez or Bolaño is not Latino.

Never mind Borges wrote an Alien invasion film.

And maybe that attitude is part of the reason Latinos apparently don't exist in the future per sci-fi films or books with the exception of a few shows like Star Trek or Babylon 5. Please disregard all those naysayers, we need more diversity in all genres.

M.N Thorne · Oct 10, 2014

You are welcome, Littlebit66

Latin American genre writers needs more exposure to the masses.

Littlebit66 said:
This is a wonderful thread topic, I started working on a new story where the MC is a young Latino college student who feels he doesn't quite fit in with his large extended family because he's a sort of a nerd and loves sci-fi. Your notes about Latin American writers and books could be a nice detail where he offers suggestions for sci-fi books with a pretty girl he meets at his college book store; luckily for him she also shares some of the same interests.

These forums are a lot of fun as well as informative.

KarmaPolice · Oct 12, 2014

I've personally noticed the absence of Latinos in sci-fi. I thought that by say the 22nd Century a few more Spanish words would have got into 'mainstream' English language (we're not fussy, happily stealing any new word that fills a hole - I don't understand why mañana isn't there yet!) Also, the demographics alone say that the US is becoming increasingly Latino - bring on a President Garcia, Rodriguez or Perez for that novel set in the 2040's!

Iced_Chai · Nov 23, 2014

Hey! I’m an animation nerd, and I thought I’d pipe up. I primarily research about social censorship in family-targeted American animation. Children of color grow up with a limited representation of themselves in the media they consume.

In 2015 DreamWorks will be releasing Home – the first CG theatrically released film with a black primary protagonist.
Disney’s Big Hero 6 (2014) is Disney’s first CG film with a character of color as the primary protagonist – and it has been 11 years since they featured another male character of color as their primary protagonist (Brother Bear 2003).

Of the 39 Disney films with a primary human protagonist, 10 of them have a character of color as the lead. 3/10 of those characters spend the majority of their movie as an animal (by comparison only 3/29 white characters are inhuman for large portions of their movies).

http://woodsanimation.blogspot.com/2014/01/disney-race-and-gender-data.html

White nerd culture can sometimes be very dismissive of representation issues, and it is not uncommon to see films like Avatar, in which all of the characters of color are hidden under “digital makeup” alien and otherworldly.

Iced_Chai · Nov 23, 2014

Also, if you don't already read Black Girl Nerds, I highly recommend it. Here is a great article that looks at the different ways female/POC/QUILTBAG fans interact with fandom in comparison to white male nerds:

http://blackgirlnerds.com/gender-roles-fandom-fake-geek-girl-dilemma/

And here is a personal account from a black cosplayer whose pictures went viral, and the racism that she faced:

http://www.xojane.com/issues/mad-back-cosplayer-chaka-cumberbatch

C.bronco · Nov 23, 2014

Nerd-dom does not have racial boundaries. All who are privy to such awesomeness have only to accept the marker and own it.

TessB · Nov 23, 2014

(If only that were true!)

I'm not POC myself so I can't speak for them, but I'd strongly suggest getting in touch with Jay Justice -- she's @thatjayjustice on Twitter, and has a tumblr. She's been cosplaying-while-Black for years, currently works for Marvel Now tours, and is one of the strongest voices for POC women in geekdom that I currently know of. (Also, her cosplays are flat-out amazing.)

She'd be the one to ask about her experiences, since she's been to cons worldwide. She's also given interviews before: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2425583,00.asp

Calling all nerds, comic book geeks, cosplayers, and anime feinds

Kitty27

So Goth That I Was Born Black

maxmordon

Penúltimo

M.N Thorne

maxmordon

Penúltimo

M.N Thorne

maxmordon

Penúltimo

M.N Thorne

CheG

Littlebit66

Littlebit66

M.N Thorne

KarmaPolice

Iced_Chai

Iced_Chai

C.bronco

I have plans...

TessB

The Boxing Baroness